BRUSSELS (AP) — Belgium summoned the U.S. ambassador on Tuesday over a social media post accusing the country of anti-Semitic prosecutions of Jewish Belgians, its foreign minister said.
“Labeling Belgium as anti-Semitic is not only wrong, but dangerous disinformation that undermines the real fight against hate,” Belgian Foreign Minister Maxime Prevot posted on X on Monday. The call was a rare move between staunch allies.
“Ambassadors to Belgium have a duty to respect our institutions, our elected representatives and the independence of our judicial system,” Prevot said. “Personal attacks on Belgian ministers and interference in judicial matters violate basic diplomatic norms.”
Belgian authorities are investigating whether three men in Antwerp performed circumcisions without certified medical training, state broadcaster VRT said.
U.S. Ambassador Bill White posted on X that the investigation “constitutes unacceptable harassment of the Jewish communities in Antwerp and Belgium.”
He said he would travel to Antwerp to visit the three defendants and invited the Belgian health minister to accompany him.
“You have to have legal provisions that allow Jewish religious figures to carry out their duties in Belgium,” he said, using the Hebrew term for Jewish ministers who are trained in circumcision, a core tenet of the faith.
Without it, Jews often cannot have bar mitzvahs, Jewish weddings, or be buried in Jewish cemeteries.
Foreign Minister Prevot said “Belgian law allows circumcision to be performed by qualified doctors under strict health and safety standards” and that he would not comment on the ongoing investigation.
